Slight rain gives respite to Cebu

The entrance to one of Cebu City’s public cemeteries is flooded after the early morning rain. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Like other Cebuanos Msgr. Joseph Tan, spokesperson of the Cebu Archdiocese, was elated over yesterday morning’s rains.

He encouraged the faithful to continue praying the oratio imperata or invocatory prayer for rain.

“It is always good to pray not because God will not do anything without it but because prayer allows us to participate in God’s plans for our good,” Tan said in a text message to Cebu Daily News.

He said prayer isn’t just an act seeking divine intervention but is also a means to participate in God’s work by becoming good stewards of creation.

“Yes, we pray for rain. But we also need to continue to be responsible for our environment which is what He commanded us in the Garden of Paradise,” Tan said.

Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma last week issued an oratio imperata for rain.

The special prayer is said during all Masses in the archdiocese.

Yesterday’s rain in some parts of Cebu province was due to the easterlies where localized convective clouds were developed, the state weather bureau Pagasa said.

Oscar Tabada, Pagasa Visayas chief, said the rains were isolated in some areas in Metro Cebu and southern Cebu but only up to Liloan town in the north.

He said the rains helped lower the temperature from 33 degrees to 26 degrees Celsius.

But Pagasa Mactan chief meteorologist Al Quiblat said yesterday’s rain was way below normal from the average rain volume for April.

Quiblat said April usually registers 61 mm of rainfall. But he said they have only recorded 4.3 mm so far.

“There is a 93 percent shortfall of rain compared to the average,” he said.

Quiblat said yesterday’s rain was only 1mm which is equivalent to 1,000 cubic meters or 5,000 drums of water per square kilometer area.

During the rest of the week, Quiblat said there will still be a low chance of isolated rain showers in Cebu province.

He said it will usually happen late in the afternoon to early morning.

Yesterday’s rains also failed to raise surface water sources in Metro Cebu which continue to dwindle, the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) said.

The Jaclupan facility of the MCWD in Talisay City dropped to 15,000 cubic meters of water as of noon yesterday, MCWD public relations manager Charmaine Rodriguez-Kara said.

She said this is a 3,000-cubic meter decline from the 18,000 cubic meters daily production last Monday.

MCWD has issued another public advisory: instead of just conserving and storing water, they said water should already be used sparingly.

“Let your cars be dirty, let your lawns turn brown, let your curtains gather dust for now,” the water firm said.

On normal days, the Jaclupan facility produces 33,000 cubic meters of water per day. Kara said they need at least one month of rains to replenish their surface water sources.

Since the Jaclupan facility mostly supplies the south areas, Kara said their production division started activating their wells in the southern areas for extended periods.